so my roommate has started playing in occasional online poker tournaments at pokerroom.com. i happen to be around for once when he's playing, so i watch him a bit, trying to explain things like why he cannot afford to call a big bet with an ace on the board at the turn when all he has is a pair of kings. (sure enough, he would have paired his 8 on the river and won the pot with two pair, but i digress.) as he's playing, who do i see sitting at his table? somebody i recognize from the fun and games here at mngca.org. know who it is? if you do, keep it to yourself. if you're not certain, then take a guess, and perhaps our poker shark will reveal her/his identity, and how well s/he did in monday night's tournament.

the unnamed person who hasn't outed him or herself said the exact same thing in the context of a brief geocaching discussion that took place during the tournament. if you knew the comment that preceded the statement, it was rather funny.

the unnamed person who hasn't outed him or herself said the exact same thing in the context of a brief geocaching discussion that took place during the tournament. if you knew the comment that preceded the statement, it was rather funny.

so my roommate's girlfriend decides to play in a $5 + $1 tournament. she wants my advice while playing, because she doesn't have much confidence in her boyfriend's strategy. (rightfully so.)

i'm not sure how good my advice is, given i'm never played a cash or tournament poker game, either online or at a casino, but i do enjoy watching the masters play on some of the television shows, and i enjoy playing for free at pokerroom.com. whether it was my advice or not, she finished 13th out of 335. at one point she was number two in the chip count, but late in the tournament her cards dried up.

but it was in the middle of the tournament that my jaw dropped. she is doing well at this point, probably about 40th with maybe less than half the players remaining when she gets a king-jack of diamonds in the pocket. pre-flop betting is not outrageous, so she gets to the flop at a reasonable price. and then comes the flop: 10, queen, ace of diamonds. that's right, a royal flush on the flop.

this is where she's not sure how to bet. she gets a decent bet from a guy across the table, i tell her just call it. he bets again, i remind her why she's slow playing the hand, so she waits until the last second to call it, hoping he thinks she is timid. i don't remember if the dude had a set of 10s, straight, flush or full house. i remember the board paired 10s, and he had one, but i forgot what his other pocket card was. whatever he had, he was confident enought to go all in with his final $7,500, only to watch in awe with the rest of the table as the royal flush takes the pot.

i realize that a royal isn't out of the question in hold 'em, but i thought it was rather impressive to nail it on the flop. those gotta be some long odds.

too bad her luck didn't hold out a little later in the tournament. (she was nearly wiped out on a bad beat, then eliminated when the time came to put her final $3K in the post in a comeback attempt.) since it was only a $5 entry, those who finished 11-20 pocketed a cool $16.50. you needed to finish fourth or better to clear $100, with the top prize being $416, if i remember correctly. there was a pizza and beer celebration scheduled for today if she won. needless to say i had chicken for dinner.